George s



PATENTED OCT. 8, 1907.

- ,c. s. PARKER. GAME APPARATUSL APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10. 1907.

lnvenior: deorge ,S'. Parker, 1-!

Wii'nesses 1 5M 17% WW firm.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE S. PARKER, OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO PARKER BROTHERS,OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

GAME APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 8, 1907.

Application filed June 10,1907. Serial No. 378,051.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, GEORGE S. PARKER, a citizen of the United States,residing in Salem, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts,have invented an Improvement in Game Apparatus, of which the followingdescription, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aspecification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention relates to game apparatus adapted not only to affordamusement and recreation, but to test ciated by reference to thefollowing description and accompanying drawings of an apparatusembodying one form of my invention and selected for purposes ofillustration herein, its scope being more particularly pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the drawings: Figure l is a perspective view of a selected embodimentof my invention showing a plurality of repositories and the implementupon which a ball is supported and conveyed to one of the repositories;and Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional detail, showing one of the hollowrepositories partially filled with balls resting upon a slightlydifferent form of support and in the act of being tipped over by theiraction upon th inclined walls of the repository. I

Referring to the drawings and the particular embodiment of my inventionselected for illustration therein, 1 provide one or more repositories 1,herein four in number, adapted to rest upon a suitable flat support,such as the tray 2, having the upturned edge 3, the said repositories inthe position shown in Fig. 1 being adapted to receive one or more balls4 from the conveying implement 5. The tray may rest upon a table or anyother support preferably smooth and flat, thereby permitting the ballsto roll freely thereon, or the tray itself may be given a greater areaor extent and caused to form such support. In the present instance therepositories are fitted somewhat snugly within the upturned edge 3 ofthe tray, said edge acting to space and retain the reposito say, therepositories being assembled in this case in a rectangular formation,the tray is rectangular, and the edge thereof conforms to such generalformation of the repositories.

The balls 4 may be of any desired material and are preferablysphericalin shape, so that they will roll freely upon any smooth or flatsurface with little or no friction and without any fixed positions ofrest. They may be made of earthen ware or glass, like the common playingmarble, or of polished hollow steel or other material, the latter inmany respects being preferable, owing to the fact that they may beshaped into true spherical form with considerable accuracy andpermanency and as they insure a quick rebound when dropped upon a hardsurface as well as general liveliness in their movements.

While any number of repositories 1 may be employed, in the presentinstance 1 preferably provide four, each preferably taper shaped, hereinfrusto conical, the same being shown as arranged or grouped closetogether on the supporting board, with their small ends uppermost. Eachof these repositories as shown comprises a thin shell of cardboard orother suitable material open at its upper and lower ends. The circularopening in the top of each of these shells is a little larger indiameter than that of the ball or sphere 4, so that the latter may bedropped into it, the bases being a little more than twice such diameter,each repository being thus adapted to receive a plurality of the ballsas the latter are suc-v cessively deposited therein through the cylinderball receiving aperture at the upper end.

The conveying implement by which the balls are picked up from the flatsupporting table or other surface and conveyed to the apertured end ofthe repository, comprises a preferably spatulate or fiat shovel shapedhead 5, and a preferably inclined handle 6 by which it may bemanipulated. The head 5 is preferably provided with a fiat, smooth orpolished face 7 upon which a ball is balanced with more or lessdifiiculty, and conveyed to position over the aperture in one of therepositories, the shovel then being tipped in an attempt to cause theball balanced thereon to roll towards and fall into the repository. Thefront endof the shovel, the right Fig: 1, is preferably beveled as at 8,to permit the shovel to be presented to face 7 of the implement and toprevent it from rollingoff, which, as will readily be understood bythose skilled in the art, causes the exercise of considerable skill inbalancing as well as the exercise of patience and selfcontrol, since theleast displacement of the conveying surface of the implement from ahorizontal position, permits the ball to roll off, unless it is retainedby a reverse or other suitable movement of the implement. Havingbalanced the ball on the conveyer, the player next attempts to convey ittowards the aperture in the top of one of the repositories and then totilt the supporting face of the implement to cause the ball to roll offinto said aperture.

To deposit the ball in the repository, usually requires numerousattempts before a sufiicient balance or control over the ball andimplement is acquired and it is still more difficult to convey the balltoward and deposit it in the repository aperture 9. These movements aresuccessfully accomplished only by the exercise of considerable skill orunusual luck and even more is required to guide the ball off the edge ofthe implement into said aperture. It will be apparent that the repeatedtipping movements made in an attempt to maintain the ball in equilibriumupon the supporting face of the implement tend to send the ball off theconveying surface of the implement at a point and in a direction quiteunexpected, causing the ball usually to strike either the rim of theaperture and fall off or to strike the inclined face of the repositoryand roll away instead of entering it as is desired.

The conveying or supporting surface of the implement, as has beenstated, is preferably smooth and preferably Without directing means,such as concavities, grooves, depressions, or the like, which mightassist the player in directing the ball towards the aperture. It will befurthermore observed thatthe head or upturned end of the ball orrepository, namely the cone, presents a ball receiving aperturesurrounded only by a narrow rim formed by the thin wall of the cone, sothat there are no supporting surfaces presented to the ball, when it isdelivered from the implement and along which the ball might be directedinto the ball receiving aperture. On the contrary, the ball must bedeliberately delivered and directed into said aperture, otherwise itwill miss it.

The repositories are so constructed that they afford no means forassisting the player in directing the ball towards and depositing it inone of the repository apertures, so that, the results of his playdepends entirely upon his skill in manipulation.

The repositories are preferablydifferently colored, for example, oneblue, another green, red, yellow, etc.', so that a repository may beassigned to each player, and such repositories readily identified.

In playing the game, there being, for example, four players andpreferably a plurality of balls for each player, each in turn takes theimplement and attempts to pick up a ball and convey it, in the mannerdescribed, to the aperture in the top of one of the repositories and tocause the ball to fall through said aperture into said repository.

If the repositories rest upon a table or a smooth supporting traywithout the retaining edge 3, their propertions are such that a numberof balls having accumulated within any one repository, gravity causesthe described, the upsetting of a repository by balls to wedge againstthe inner sides of the repository and finally upset when a sufficientnumber have accumulated, as indicated by dotted line in Fig. 2. When thegame is played with the repositories free to tip over,

the accumulation of balls may be taken as indicating the termination ofthe game.

When the game is played by a plurality of players, (itch player may andpreferably will be provided with a separate conveying implement and thedesired number of balls, each of which may be and preferably is given adistinct color to distinguish them from those used by the other players.Upon an unsuccessful attempt to deposit a ball in his selectedrepository, the player may be penalized and also, when played as in Fig.2, in each instance in which one or another of the repositories is upsetby the impact of the misdirected ball upon the outer surface thereof.

In case a penalizing feature is employed a continuous score may be kept,each player in turn being entitled to a play, and a score for or againsteach player being carried along until some prescribed limit is reached.Obviously, any other desired rules may he made and employed forutilizing this novel game apparatus, for example, the provision ofhollow repositories, each being very light and easily upset, requires agreat deal more skill on the part of the player than would be requiredwere said repositories made solid or heavy and provided with a socket oropening to receive the ball, so that, in the form of apparatus shown inFig. 2, the penalizing of each player may be made proportiomite to thenumber of repositories improperly upset. In such case the repositoriesare each of such height as to present its small circular aperture at thetop at some distance above the supporting surface.

The implement by which the balls are conveyed to the repositories isalso of sufficient width to necessitate considerable care on the part ofthe player to prevent his tipping the same in proximity to therepositories without displacing or upsetting one or lnore of them, whileattempting to cause the ball supported thereon to roll into the aperturein the desired repository.

While I have described my invention with reference to one specificembodiment thereof, obviously my invention is not limited thereto, norto the specific construction and arrangement of details, the same beingcapable of modification within wide limits without. departing from thespirit and scope thereof.

Claims.

1. As a new article ofmanufacture, a game apparatus of the typedescribed comprising a repository consisting of a frusto conical hollowshell of relatively light material adapted to be supported upon itsbase, and to receive a plurality of balls therein through the open upperend, and to be tilted by an accumulation of such balls.

As an article of manufacture, a game apparatus of the type describedcomprising a plurality of repositories having distinguishingcharacteristics, each consisting of a frusto conical hollow shell ofrelatively light material adapted to be supported upon its base and toreceive a plurality of balls therein through theopen upper end and to betilted by an accumulation of such balls.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a game apparatus of the typedescribed, comprising a tray, a plurality of repositories supported uponsaid tray, each repository consisting of a frusto-eonical hollow shellof relatively light material adapted to be supported upon its base andto receive a plurality of balls therein through the open upper end, andto be tilted by an accumulation of such balls, the tray and the outerperiphery of the plurality of repositories being of substantially thesame shapes and sizes.

5 4 As an article of manufacture, a game apparatus of the type describedhaving a tray, 2, provided with an upturned edge 3, a plurality ofrepositories supported upon said tray, each repository consisting of afrnsto-conical hollow shell of relatively light material adapted to be10 supported upon its base and to receive a plurality of balls thereinthrough the open upper end, and to be tilted by an accumulation of suchballs, the upturned edge having the general outline of the plurality ofrepositories.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses. 15

GEORGE S. PARKER.

Witnesses THOMAS B. BOOTH, JosIAH Mmo'r FOWLER.

